“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” - Billy Joel

Kristina Jenness, better known around these parts as Kris, grew up in Brownville, NY and knew from a very early age that she wanted to work with and help animals. She loved the fact that, in veterinary medicine, no day is truly the same. Her free spirit took her to Florida for several years, where she immersed herself in this profession as a veterinary assistant in a small animal hospital, in addition to volunteering in small animal rescue (another major interest of hers).

When she returned to NY, Kris worked both in another small animal practice and for the US Postal Service before joining our team as an awesome veterinary assistant and client service representative! Kris’s love for animals and superb customer service skills provided her with a very smooth transition into our team. She quickly became a beacon of both positivity and light humor for our team and our clients. If anyone has the opportunity of talking with her on the telephone, they can pretty much hear her smiling!  Her calm demeanor helps to soothe even the most worried client.  She strongly believes in having patience and kindness for everyone and meeting everyone where they’re at.  She is incredibly good at reading canine body language and can be a source of calmness for our worried canine patients.  When asked why she chose The Animal Doctors, Kris said that she immediately knew our team genuinely cared about the pets and the people that came into our clinic and wanted to be a part of it.  She especially enjoys helping people through the toughest moments of their pets’ lives - end-of-life care - and creating beautiful mementos for them.  She also enjoys helping other team members with taking x-rays of patients.

When she’s not outside going fishing or going for boat rides, Kris can be found hanging out with her dogs and watching scary movies!  But, which of her pets - KoJack (Boxer), Nolan (Plotthound/Mastiff), Bruce Wayne (French Bulldog), or Ned Pepper (the long-haired cat) - would actually enjoy watching scary movies?  We think Bruce Wayne would like Masterpiece Theater better!  Speaking of Bruce Wayne, Kris oftentimes brings him to work with her as an emotional support dog for our team members!  He provides a lot of stress - and comic - relief with his calm vibes and dapper bowties!  A couple of fun facts about Kris are that she loves karaoke and that she owns more ballcaps than most men do!

If you could leave one piece of information for every pet parent, what would it be?

Make every day count - they go by much too fast with our fur kids. Never be afraid to advocate for them.